A Link Between Worlds
by GhostArtistYT
Summary: James is a new student. He thought he was normal. But then he met Danny Fenton. He found out he wasn't as normal as he thought. He can sense something's up with Danny, but he doesn't know what. His goal is to learn how to use this new sixth sense, and find out what's so odd about Danny.
1. Chapter 1: The Hidden

**Yooooo what up? This story might be short, but I keep thinking up ideas so it might end up long. I don't know if this is a common concept or not, but if it is, I'm trying to put some new style into it. This might not turn out good though, I hope it does. Enjoy!**

**This takes place just after What You Want.**

_**I don't own Danny Phantom. I wish I did, so I can make more episodes.**_

* * *

The bell rang.

Students ran from their lockers to their classes.

One student had out a schedule and the Casper High School map printed on a flimsy piece of paper. He was the new student: James Allenson. A freshman who was completely... well, almost completely... ordinary. His mom was an accountant. His dad was one of the stars of those shows where they try to find ghosts in abandoned buildings (and James was quite sure they were fake).

He was not a jock, but wasn't a nerd. He didn't quite have a place anywhere. He wore a plain black shirt and jeans. His brown hair was in the most basic style. He didn't get noticed by anyone, except for Dash, who tripped him, as he does with all new kids.

He sat down in his first class. Students were talking and messing around. One kid caught his attention, though.

That kid was an ordinary black-haired kid, talking to two other kids, obviously his friends. One wore a funny red hat and the other was obviously goth. But the friends weren't interesting.

James didn't quite have the nerve to talk to that kid, but kept a good eye on him for the rest of the class.

* * *

Lunchtime. The first four classes of the day were over.

Kids crowding the halls, running to get the nuclear waste the school calls food.

James got some of the mysterious goo and looked around for a place to sit.

It wasn't hard to find the black-haired kid. James' attention was drawn to him quickly, even though the kid didn't stick out. James decided to get to know the kid. He went to the table they were sitting at.

"Hey, I'm James. Can I sit here?"

The black-haired kid nodded. "Go ahead. I'm Danny, and these are my friends Tucker and Sam."

James sat down. "I just moved here, this is my first day."

"Well then, welcome to Amity Park. Here's some tips: don't eat the green goo," Danny said as he pointed to what appeared to be mashed peas, then continued, "stay away from the jocks, keep in well lit areas, and if you want to keep your sanity, _never _talk to my parents."

Tucker wasn't slow to talk about technology. "So, do you like computers? I know a lot about computers myself. Or are you the gaming type?"

James smiled. He moved around all the time, and was always the new kid. He was glad to find people who didn't bully the new kid for once. "I guess you can call me a gamer."

"Do you play Doomed? I bet-" Tucker stopped and looked at Danny. James suddenly got this strange feeling; it was fear, yet confidence, and most of all, alertness.

In a suddenly serious tone, Danny said, "I'll be back. Sam, come with me." He got up and whispered something in Tucker's ear, and ran out and left.

The feeling faded to a dull thought, but didn't go away. James was talking with Tucker about Doomed, but it was tough to focus on the conversation. For a while, the strange afraid-alert feeling wouldn't go away.

* * *

The rest of lunch and school flew by. James shared his last class with Danny, who slept through most of it. He invited James over to hang out with him and Sam and Tucker.

The house in question spawned many, _many _ questions. Sam and Tucker stifled their laughs after seeing the hilarious face of disbelief James made after seeing the bright flashing Fenton Works sign and the bunches of equipment of the roof.

Danny answered the questions before they could be asked.

"Yes, my house is crazy. That big metal thing on top is called the Ops Center. My parents built it. And yes, my parents are that crazy. I have a sister, and she is _not _crazy."

"Don't forget to mention the huge lab in the basement," Sam added.

"And stay away from the green goo," Tucker noted. The trio laughed. James was confused, but amused.

James sighed in relief when they walked inside to a relatively normal-looking house. It had a strange feeling to it, though. A feeling of obscure, mixed emotions, plus an added alert feeling seeming to come off from Danny himself.

"Good, they're in the lab. They won't try to push their ghost craziness on you. Ignore any big explosions, they're nothing to worry about."

The alert feeling faded, but the others didn't. They went up to Danny's room.

James sat on the bed. "So, you got ghost hunting parents, huh? My dad does ghost stuff too."

James got a curious feeling. Danny obviously was interested in what James said.

"What does your dad do?"

"He's on one of those ghost hunter shows. That one with three ghost-hunting-technology wielding geeks and a 'psychic medium'. He's the 'medium'."

"Oh man, my parents love that show! They're jealous of the ghost-sensing power."

James laughed. "Yeah, I personally don't believe it. Ghosts? Seriously? It would've been bad enough if he was a simple hunter, but he just _has _to be the psychic. We had to move here because school bullies found out he was on the show, and in turn, bullied me to no end."

There was a sudden feeling in the air. A very slight, almost sad feeling. Almost disappointed, ashamed.

Danny let out a gloomy laugh. "You don't know the half of it."

James was linking the feelings to Danny. The kid was different. James was sure of it. The feelings seemed to be linked with Danny's feelings. He changed the subject though, as both a test and an escape from ghost talk.

"So, we should get to what we met up for. Let's play some video games!"

In the end, they played all sorts of games for a few hours, until sunset. James left, feeling refreshed with the feeling of no foreign feelings. The cool night air cleared his thoughts.

The curiosity didn't go away, though. He didn't know what was happening to him. Though he did know that there was something up with Danny and the house he lived in, he didn't know how he would figure it out.

* * *

**There it is! A new story! I hope this is interesting. Prepare for more chapters eventually!**


	2. Chapter 2: The Suspicions

**This is a fun story to write. I still don't know how long this will be in the end. Sorry I took so long to update, I haven't had much inspiration recently.**

**Funny thing here: when writing, I listen to music. A song called The Ghost In You played. Probably not as funny to you as I found it.**

_**Danny phantom ain't mine. If it was it would still be on TV.**_

* * *

Danny went to James's locker. James was there, luckily for him. Somehow, he almost knew he was there before he saw him.

Danny didn't get much sleep last night. An annoying mouse ghost kidnapped Sam and Tucker and led Danny on a wild goose chase across the city until he was caught at three in the morning. And that meant he (and also Sam and Tucker) didn't get any homework done.

The crowd wasn't too bad. Dash wasn't around.

"Hey James! Can I copy your history homework? I was a bit busy last night."

James took out a notebook. "Good luck. I'm expecting that back by lunch," he said, as he handed Danny the notebook and walked away.

Danny looked at the notebook with confusion, but didn't think twice, because the bell rang. He had to get to class.

* * *

The messy handwriting James wrote in the notebook was hard to decipher, but Danny figured it out just a few minutes before he had to turn it in. After it was turned in, though, Danny's ghost sense went off.

He managed to get out of class, but that was the least of his problems. The box ghost was wrecking a supply closet, gathering boxes. All it took was a little ghost ray, and he was able to be caught.

Invisibly, and in his human form, he snuck back down the hall, checking if the coast was clear. He was just about to turn visible when James turned the corner.

"Oh hey, Danny! Woah, that's weird, you're like a hologram! How'd you do that? Or are you really a hologram?"

Danny looked down at his hands... well, technically, lack of hands. He was still invisible. Nobody else could see him... except for James.

"James? You can see me?"

"Sorta. I see you, but I can also see through you. How are you doing it?"

Danny quickly thought of an excuse. "Uhh, yeah, hologram. Tucker made a hologram thing."

James accepted the answer. "Cool! Can I try it?"

"Maybe at lunch?"

"Cool! Well, I gotta get back to class. See ya soon!"

Danny was getting more suspicious of James as time went on. He could tell there was something off about him, but didn't know what.

* * *

Danny waited with Sam and Tucker. They already discussed whether to tell James about Danny's powers and decided against it.

"What if my powers just malfunctioned? That Poindexter ghost saw me while I _thought _I was invisible last week. Who knows what happened?"

Sam wrote a note in a notebook. "It's a possibility. Or maybe you need to look deeper into things."

"Deeper? What do you mean?"

"Well, he said his dad was on a ghost show. The psychic on a ghost show."

"That can't be real. Can it?"

Tucker stared intently at his PDA. "The internet is split. So, maybe it can. That's insane."

Danny sighed. "With all this ghost stuff going on, I gotta remember how real the supernatural can be."

James showed up at that moment. "Sorry I'm late, I got stuck at the end of the lunch line. Oh, Tucker, Danny said you had some hologram thing. Can I see it?

Tucker looked at Danny in confusion. Danny shrugged.

"It sorta broke. Sorry." Luckily, Tucker was getting better with sudden excuses.

"Aww man. Maybe next time."

Danny had an idea. He could get information in an inconspicuous manner. He could find out if the psychic powers really exist.

"Hey, wanna come over again tonight?"

"Sorry, but I can't. A new season of my dad's show is playing, and there's a new episode every Friday. My dad makes me watch with him. Tonight and the next five Fridays are out. Unless you want to come over and watch with us."

Danny looked at Sam and Tucker. Sam gave a concerned look. Tucker gave a slight nod.

"Sure."

They all finished eating just as the lunch bell rang. James instantly jumped up and ran for his next class. The trio stayed behind.

"Are you sure it's a good idea to go to the house of a ghost-sensing psychic? I mean, there's a chance it's not real, but it's pretty risky," Sam questioned.

"Well, it's the perfect way to get some info on what's happening," replied Danny.

Tucker joined in the conversation. "I'll come with you, Danny. Sam, are you gonna come?"

"Of course I'm coming. I just want you to be careful, Danny. We already had one close call today. We don't need another."

* * *

That evening, the trio met at James' house. Danny knocked on the door, crossing the point of no return.

Luckily, James was the one to answer. "Welcome in. Be careful, my dad is a bit on edge tonight."

They stepped in to a completely normal house. The only unique thing was the absolutely gigantic TV and a couple of pretty big couches in front of it, but otherwise, the house was average.

"My mom made spaghetti for all of us. It's the best spaghetti you'll ever have!"

They got a plate of fresh spaghetti and James lead them to the living room. They sat on one of the big couches.

"You got here just in time. The show starts in five-" James was interrupted by a yell.

"There are ghosts about!"

Danny was quite used to random yelling about ghosts from random places in the house. It was quite odd-sounding when it wasn't his own dad's voice.

James facepalmed and yelled back. "Dad, there's no ghosts about!"

James' dad came into full view. "He knows I know he's here, can't you feel it? He's right in this very room! He's hiding. Not weak, but hiding. I know it. He's..." His voice trailed off. He looked right at Danny, but shook his head. "So these are your new friends, huh?" He asked in a suspicious tone. "You've never brought anyone to watch the show with us." To the trio, he said, "There's a ghost in this house. I've never had a ghost in this house. Be careful, they're shifty little things."

When James' dad looked away, Sam whispered into Danny's ear. "He's onto you. Be careful."

James spoke up with what was obviously a distraction. "Hey, the show's starting! Let's watch!"

The show was an hour long. Danny kept note of James' dad on the show; how his powers worked, what he claimed to see, and how he claimed to talk to the ghosts. He talked about what happened _every single commercial break, _so that helped.

After the show was over at seven, James invited the trio to play some video games. He had all the new racing games (and tended to win all of them) and they ended up playing for nearly three hours when Danny saw the clock.

"Oh man, its 9:30! If I miss curfew again I'm so dead! Sorry, gotta go!" He raced off, grabbing his stuff, when he was stopped at the door by James' dad.

He stared deep into Danny's eyes. "It's you. The ghost is in you."

Danny tried not to show fear. "I don't think so. I mean, uhh..."

"I'd suggest an exorcism, but it doesn't seem to have harmed you."

"My parents are ghost hunters. Maybe that's the whole problem. Gotta go, can't be late!" Danny ran out the door and hopped on his motor-scooter and sped off.

James was already a risk, and adding his dad into it meant even bigger risks. Danny had to be careful. Excuses needed to be made _in advance_. He knew something was off about James, and his ghost side was telling him: James is a psychic.

* * *

**The end of this chapter ties right in to Bitter Reunions, so that's cool I guess. Sorry again for the wait.**


	3. Chapter 3: The Secrets

**And we're back! Now with two stories I'm fully invested in I gotta try not to abuse either of them. Oof**

**Keep in mind the show was set in 2004 and this fanfic will stay in 2004 like the show.**

* * *

A long weekend passed. James started doing research on psychic abilities. He kept it secret from his dad, of course. All sorts of sources on the internet gave conflicting accounts of the ability, many saying it wasn't a real thing. James felt reassured, hanging on to science. He shoved away the thought in the back of his mind that knew it was real.

James' dad was even more ghost-crazy this weekend than before. A supposed ghost in the house, coupled with Danny letting it slip to him that his parents were ghost hunters, put him on edge the whole weekend (and also hogged the only computer in the house all Saturday to research the Fentons' work).

Danny went on a surprise weekend trip with his family, so he hung out with Sam and Tucker on Saturday to get away from the ghost craziness. They went to see a movie.

For the next two school days, Danny was still gone. It wasn't until Wednesday when he returned.

It was ten minutes before school started. James was at his locker when he felt a feeling of fear grow quickly. He turned around, and Danny ran past, shouting a quick "hey James!" as he ran past. Dash ran by soon after. The feeling faded.

James shut his locker and followed that feeling until they got to the gym. There were quite a few people there, waiting for school to start. While Danny was running across the basketball court, Dash was stopped next to the bleachers, throwing dodgeballs from the big dodgeball basket. Danny managed to dodge most of them, but soon got knocked to the ground.

James knew what it was like to be terrorized by bullies. They were brutal, and if you stood up to them, you'd be bullied more. Unless you somehow manage to scare them off. A nearly impossible feat.

James didn't want to leave Danny to be terrorized though. He knew he would probably become a target, but he confronted Dash.

"Dash, stop terrorizing Danny."

Dash turned around to face James, dodgeball in hand. "Well, new kid. You're defending Fenton? You're making a big mistake."

James smiled evilly. "I'm not afraid of you, Dash. Just leave him alone and I won't bother you anymore."

While Dash was distracted, Danny came up behind him with two dodgeballs in hand. James felt a wave of confidence, both in him and from Danny.

"Well, I'm not afraid of you either, new kid. Walk away and I'll consider leaving you alone."

Danny looked to James, who nodded. With amazing strength, Danny launched the dodgeballs at Dash with amazing speed. Dash stumbled and dropped the dodgeball he was holding, which James picked up.

Dash turned and ran at Danny, who was already almost to the door on the other side of the gym. With all his strength, James threw his dodgeball at Dash. It didn't have nearly the strength as Danny's, but it was an accurate hit to Dash's head, distracting him as Danny went out the door.

With Danny gone, James knew he was the new target. But with Dash on the other side of the gym, it gave him just enough time to run out the door and escape in the crowd of teenagers in the halls.

* * *

They didn't get a chance to meet back up until Lunch. They sat at their usual table.

Before they even got the chance to start eating, James and Danny's faces were shoved into their food by a very angry Dash, who looked back with an evil smirk as he walked away.

"What did you do to make him target you, James?" Sam asked.

"Me and Danny got some revenge on him. We pelted him with dodgeballs."

"Now that's some sweet revenge!" Tucker said.

"Seriously though, Danny, you should join the baseball team. Those were some wicked throws," James suggested.

Danny shook his head. "I'm not a sports guy."

Then another feeling came.

It was much more complex than the simple auras that came from Danny. It was almost as if it were thoughts, not just emotion.

The wave of determination from Danny confused his senses and gave him a bit of a headache. He tried to tell himself it wasn't real. He tried to pretend that he wasn't psychic like his dad.

But when Danny ran off and that foreign determination faded, doubts rose. He still didn't believe in ghosts like his dad did, but he knew psychics didn't have to be psychics for ghosts. The source of the second feeling wasn't in this room, he was sure of it. _So where did it come from?_

"Where did he run off to?" James asked.

Sam shrugged. "He probably went to get something out of his locker."

"He went to get something from his locker... in the middle of Lunch?"

"It was probably something important," Tucker said.

James didn't say anything more. He was starting to get suspicious, even more so than before. Danny left when the second feelings came around. James needed to find out why.

* * *

That afternoon, James walked with Danny to the strange building Danny called home. Sam and Tucker had their own things to do, so they didn't come. He wanted to get information, and do it casually.

But before he even got there, he could feel some powerful energy from all the way down the street. Somehow, he knew it was coming from Danny's place. The energy felt unwelcoming. The closer he got, the more his instincts were telling him to stay back. However, he had to keep walking, keep his face neutral, to hide his secret. Danny's calm aura was nearly drowned out by the energy.

When they got inside, the main room was empty, but there was talking from downstairs. Three voices.

Danny went down to the lab, and James forced himself to follow.

"Mom, Dad, who are you talking-" Danny stopped. "Oh, man."

It was James' dad.

"Well, son, nice to see you here! The Fentons were just showing off their ghost portal! Can you feel the raw energy of a million ghosts' emotions? I didn't expect you to want to come in with how overwhelming the energy is."

James turned to Danny. "Did you tell my dad your parents were ghost hunters?" He whispered to him.

"I'm sorry, he caught me off guard!"

James didn't say another word. He walked right back upstairs. He had full intention of leaving, but Danny stopped him.

"Hey, dude, I'm sorry. Let's just go upstairs and play some games."

James accepted the apology. He could tell he was being sincere. They went upstairs.

James was accepting his power. He was accepting that maybe, just maybe, it was completely real. The extreme energy was encouraging that fact.

"Hey, Danny?"

"Yeah, James?"

"I used to believe in all those ghost shows as a kid. I used to think ghosts were real, and my dad encouraged it. Then I stopped. But that lab, that portal..." James hesitated, thinking of how to word his sentence. "The portal looked so real. Is this ghost stuff real?"

Through the energy, James could feel Danny's nervousness. Danny said no words, worried about how he would answer.

"For all I know, that portal is just some crazy light show. My parents' inventions never worked, so why believe a _portal to another dimension_ would be any different to a laser gun that does nothing?"

James was sure of it: Danny was hiding something, and didn't want James to know. Whether it was just him wanting to keep the portal a secret from everyone or something much deeper, he would have to find out.

* * *

**Ugh, this chapter sucks. Heck, this whole story sucks. But that won't stop me.**


	4. Chapter 4: The Lesson

**I honestly don't know how long this story will be. It will probably end up being super long with a chapter for every episode and take years to finish. Or, I'll find some way to finish this faster. I doubt it. This story sucks, but I'm having fun with it.**

**Also, I just realized I put a part about James' dad being ghost-crazy last chapter and it reads like James knew Danny told James' dad about his ghost hunting parents. James was not supposed to know yet, and I forgot to make it more clear that the sentence wasn't quite a James-perspective sentence. Big oof.**

* * *

Friday came by, and Danny had quite the predicament on his hands. Last night, Danny launched the anniversary present his dad was supposed to take with him to Arkansas into the Ghost Zone. Fearing it was going to be the key to stopping a possible divorce, He decided that after school he would travel into the ghost zone to save it.

They never told James of their plan. Even though they were fairly certain James knew what was up, Danny still decided to keep him in the dark about his secret.

James felt the anxiety before he even saw Danny. James decided to ignore it, but was still a bit concerned. The day went by without incident.

It was later at night where there was incident. It was a Friday night. The second to last episode of the season of his dad's show was airing. But before that, James' dad decided that it was a good idea to teach James how to be psychic (or psycho, as James _used _to say before he started to believe this stuff). James had to play it cool so his dad didn't get _too _enthusiastic.

"James, I think you're old enough to learn how to use your powers. My dad had them, and his dad had them, and so on. If we're going to keep up this family tradition, you need to learn them."

James had to keep up the disinterested persona. "Do I really have to?"

"Of course! You need to learn control of them, or your powers will completely overwhelm you!"

"Dad, I don't believe in these powers and I definitely don't have them." A complete lie.

"Nonsense. You just haven't seen any ghosts yet. The Fentons let me borrow some of their equipment. It should trigger your powers. Follow me."

The two went out to the garage. There was a table set up with a few weird contraptions and a canister of glowing green goo on it.

"Now, for our first test, we will see if you're an Empath." He took the canister of green goo and opened it up. "Now, Stick your finger in it."

James didn't see how this would prove anything. He stuck his finger in the goo, and while the coldness of the goo was shocking, it was the feeling of intense hate and anger that attacked and made him instantly jump back.

"Interesting. Do it one more time, but this time, don't stop touching it."

James did it again, this time ready for the vicious feelings. He touched the goo again, resisting the urge to draw his hand back. The anger coming from the goo faded. A freezing cold climbed up his arm, giving him goosebumps and sending a chill down his spine.

"James, you're an Empath. And a dang powerful one too."

James finally saw the point of the test. "No, the goo was just cold. It was surprising, that's all."

His dad laughed. "You don't need to hide it. You definitely felt the anger. That goo is ectoplasm. I even microwaved it to warm it up a bit to see how strong your powers were. I can assure you, you are an Empath."

"What even is an Empath?"

"It's a type of psychic. You can feel the feelings of ghosts, and even if they're weak, you can at least feel their presence. You can probably see invisible ghosts too, a trait most Empaths have. However, the weakest ghosts can't be seen by most Empaths. Although... your reaction to the ectoplasm was so strong you could probably see weaker ghosts than I can."

"Whatever you say. Now, what next?"

"Next, we're seeing if you're a listener." He picked up an old cassette player and played some noise. It sounded like some strange growling.

James couldn't explain what he was hearing. He knew it was growling, but heard emotion in it. It was a curious growling, like whatever was making the growling was investigating the recording device. But there were no words.

"Why are you playing a growling dog?" James said.

"Interesting. You're not a listener. I'm not surprised. That trait doesn't run in the family."

"What's the point of all this, Dad?" James said in a fake annoyed tone.

"It's to test your powers."

"How did you get all this stuff anyways?"

"It's an interesting story. The Fentons sent a tape recorder into the ghost zone and when they pulled it back up it was covered in ectoplasm, which is how I got the sample we have. The devices on the table are just modified ghost weapons that simulate ghost rays."

"Uhh Dad? Why do you have ghost weapons?"

His dad laughed. "To test your ghost ray resistance, of course!"

James left the garage. His dad ran after him.

"James, wait!"

"I am NOT gonna get shot by that thing."

"Fine, we won't test that. We can't test if you're a telepath either, with no live subjects, so why don't I just teach you to control your powers?"

"I'm done with this." James went upstairs.

His dad yelled after him. "If your powers get too overwhelming, just focus on your own feelings!"

James shut his room door. As much as he wanted more info about his powers, the guns scared him away. He had an explanation though. He was on the right track to finding out more about his powers. So, now that it was confirmed to be ghosts, he had some new questions: Why do his powers activate around Danny? Does Danny have something ghostly within him? How will he get the truth out of him? James needed to find out.

* * *

**Yep, another slow chapter. The next episode to be covered is My Brother's Keeper, so things are gonna get fun.**


	5. Chapter 5: The Deceivers

**This chapter's a long one, but it didn't feel right splitting it in two. Also, writing a new character into an existing episode is hard, and some lines that you'd think wouldn't be changed are just so it's not a copy/paste fest. Also Also, the fights are from James's perspective so no names are used.**

**And yes, I did watch the episode twice and read the entire transcript over and over because I'm such a perfectionist with even the smallest details. And yes, spirit day was on Wednesday. I checked. Its all for... quality..?**

* * *

**_Monday_**

A new week. Spirit week. There was an odd feel to the school, but James couldn't tell if he was imagining it. The school was decorated quite a bit, red and white everywhere. There were papers stuck to every few classroom doors advertising that there was a new counselor and encouraging the students to see her. James was curious to see what the big deal about this counselor was, but he was more focused on going to his locker.

Multiple angry feelings were around. On his way to his locker, he passed the counselor's office, where the feelings were the strongest. He heard a crashing sound coming from the room. He would've went to check it out, but Mr. Lancer was already going there. James just walked to his locker. He looked back and saw Lancer taking Danny out of the room. _What is Danny getting in trouble for now? _He wondered. Danny sure wasn't happy about that.

Another problem was the few other sources of emotion, much stronger than Danny's. There were too many to tell how many there were. James' limit as two before the feelings started to muddle together. He may have been educated on what his powers _were, _but not how to control them right. But one disappeared, making Danny's clearer. The third, as he could now tell there were three, was so far away, he could hardly feel it. He wanted to investigate, but he decided to meet with Sam and Tucker instead.

_Later that day..._

Lunch was just starting, and Danny was on his way to his first real meeting with Ms. Spectra. And he was _not _happy about it.

"I have to see Ms. Spectra all week, and it's all Jazz's fault!"

"Who's Jazz?" James asked.

"My sister. You haven't met her yet. But she can be so annoying sometimes."

"What's wrong with seeing the counselor all week? Isn't it just free time out of class?"

Danny answered with a grunt.

The anger coming off of Danny wasn't normal, and James was worried.

The four walked together to Ms. Spectra's office. It was the first meeting of the week. James knew Danny had talked to her earlier this morning, but didn't know why. He just knew it didn't make Danny happy, and the angry energy was giving him a bit of a headache.

Once again, more energy was coming from that office. It was haunted. At least, James _guessed _it was haunted. Some unwelcome emotions were emanating from that room. James focused on telling them apart and stopping them from mixing with Danny's. Without practice, it was like listening for two unique alarm clocks' alarms in a room filled with blasting alarm clocks, but he ended up being sure there were two in the room.

They definitely gave off more complex feelings, bordering on actual thoughts. James wondered if it was because Danny was only a human, and James' ability was to feel the emotions of ghosts. That led to even more questions on why he could feel Danny's emotions in the first place, but he didn't want to think of it. It was too complicated. He just wanted to get to lunch, as the evil energy and angry emotion was starting to bring him down. He just had to wait.

* * *

Lunch just ended. The four were talking in the halls. And James could tell Danny was feeling even angrier than before.

"It didn't go well, did it?" James asked. He didn't need to feel the emotions to know how Danny was feeling. His face said it all.

"Jazz told that shrink I'm a loser. I can't believe her!"

Sam was skeptical. "Are you sure she said that? It doesn't sound like her."

James scoffed. "Man, you don't know sisters. Before mine went to college, she bossed me around all the time!"

Sam shook her head. "It still doesn't sound like Jazz to me.

Then, Jazz showed up. "Hey guys. What doesn't sound like Jazz?"

"Hey, don't butt in," James said. He didn't mean to be rude, but Danny's bad mood was starting to rub off on him. "Who are you, anyways?"

"That's Jazz, my no-good sister," Danny said sharply.

"You're still mad, aren't you?" she said sincerely.

"Wow, you _are _the smart one."

"Break it up, you two," James said. "Let's not start anything." He just wanted to stop the angry energy.

That didn't stop them. James could tell Jazz had sincere intent by the tone of her voice, but Danny wasn't having it.

And joining the anger party was the complicated malicious feeling of whatever spirit was near Ms. Spectra's office. It's intent was not good. And it was getting closer.

James tried to get everyone out of there. "Hey guys, let's just go to class and stop the arguing," he prompted. Tucker and Sam were convinced, but Danny ran away, yelling "leave me ALONE!" to Jazz.

The malicious feeling was here. A kid screamed. A giant green hornet turned the corner. James took Sam and Tuckers' arms and pulled them out of there. He didn't see what happened next. Sam and Tucker followed him as he ran, and didn't stop for two more hallways.

* * *

**_Tuesday_**

James was keeping his distance from Danny. He was keeping the distance subtle, as not to be suspicious. Jazz was talking to Sam and Tucker.

The malicious feeling was back. It dashed past him. He glanced at Danny drinking from the water fountain. A green hand came out from the wall next to him and hooked a strap on his backpack to the fire alarm handle.

"Danny! Wait!" James ran over to unhook the strap.

"What?" Danny questioned. "What happened?"

"Someone hooked your backpack to the fire alarm. That wouldn't have been good."

"Thanks, man." Danny smiled, and James picked up a notable flash of happiness.

The rest of the day went by without event. At lunch, Danny had another session with Ms. Spectra. Tucker showed James a picture of a ridiculous baby costume Danny had to wear, that he took in the halls. There were lots of people laughing around him. No wonder the cafeteria seemed empty. And it was a good explanation why Danny was giving off even more anger.

* * *

"Tucker, you already showed us those pictures," James said. It was afternoon, and the four were hanging out and having ice cream. Tucker was showing Danny the pictures of him in the baby costume.

"Well, Danny hasn't seen them yet."

Danny sighed. "Hey, Tucker, who's side are you on, anyways?"

"Chill, Danny," James said, then without realizing that he said it out loud, mumbled, "your anger is giving me a headache." The others gave him a strange look, but didn't say anything.

"He's right, though." Danny dropped his head to his arms on the table. "This whole week I've just been depressed and angry, and that stupid shrink isn't helping. She's just making me feel worse."

A thought flashed through James's mind. He could feel Danny's mood was abnormal, and Danny just connected the dots. _Ms. Spectra. Spectra, specter. The evil entity. Of course. _He didn't want to freak them out, though. He couldn't go talking about ghosts out of nowhere. He just had to help from the sidelines. "I don't trust her. You should just stop seeing her."

"Well, if I stop, I'm getting detention. That's the-" Danny was interrupted.

"Hey Danny, what's up?" It was Jazz.

"Like you care. Go away, Jazz."

James felt the presence of the evil entity, and it was getting closer. He and Danny whispered "Oh, no," at the same time. They gave each other a quick look. James saw a green glob of ghost lurking behind Paulina.

"Hey, how good are you at distractions?" Danny whispered in James's ear.

"What?"

"Get me away from Jazz. Argue with her."

James was suspicious, but decided not to question. Before his sister went to college, they wanted nothing to do with each other either. So, while Jazz was rambling to Danny, James used his skill to his advantage. He didn't want to get on her bad side, but he was in a bad mood anyways so obliged.

"Jazz, I don't care if you're Danny's sister, but this is our business. Stop butting in." Danny nodded to Sam and Tuck, and they got ready to dash out the back door.

As James said his name, Jazz noticed they ran away. "Danny, wait!" she yelled. She had a head start, and got out the back door first.

James had almost caught up, but a flash of energy stopped him. Danny's aura was gone, replaced with a similar but stronger aura, and like the evil ones, bordering on thought. This one was benevolent though, he could feel it. It had a mix of anger and confidence. James went out the door as Jazz was coming back in. He saw Sam and Tucker in the alley, but Danny was gone.

A scream came from inside. They ran back in, and when they got past the crowd of screaming people, they saw the green ghost punch a white-haired ghost into a shelf. James walked right up to the battleground, the energy intriguing him. The blobby green ghost turned into a wolf-like form. He pounced at the other ghost, tearing of a patch of his shirt, but stopped and sniffed the air.

"I knew it," the beast growled. It turned and pounced on James. "An Empath. You try to hide, but you can't. We can't feel your feelings, but we can feel your presence. Why don't you feel _this!_" Following the bad pun, the beast drew back his claws, and was about to strike when he was tackled across the room. A few more strikes between them, and the white hair ghost was pinned. He found the strength to kick the beast off, and with a high power ectoblast, shot the beast into a case that was instantly shattered. The ghost turned back to his blob form and disappeared.

Meanwhile, the white-haired ghost looked around at the damage and sighed. Then, he looked at James.

"Hey! Ghost!" James yelled. The ghost dashed away with mild fear James could feel. James sighed, slightly disappointed that he didn't get the chance to talk to the ghost.

A crunch of footsteps on broken glass behind him brought attention to Tucker and Sam. They saw the whole thing. James smiled. They'd believe in his powers.

* * *

_**Wednesday**_

Before school, James was on the prowl. The two ghosts' energies weren't in Spectra's office. He walked through the halls, honing his senses on the auras. He followed them to the gym, where he caught his first glance at Spectra.

She defied reality. She looked like a human, but that human form was transparent, revealing a shadowy ghost with flaming black hair and sharp teeth and evil red eyes. The short person next to her had the same energy as the shapeshifter in the shop. Spectra had a simple disguise, and it only hid her from normal humans.

They were setting up some big metal things next to a stage. James didn't know what they were, but he knew they weren't good. He ran away as the bell rang to start class.

Later, at lunch, the other three never came to the table. James waited and waited, but they didn't show up. He remembered Danny had a meeting with Spectra, but usually went alone. He ran over to the evil ghost's office, and Danny was waiting outside.

"Are Sam and Tucker in there?" James asked.

"Yeah, why?"

James didn't answer. It was too late for them... but not too late to figure out the ghosts' plans. They were distracted.

He ran to the gym, where the spirit rally was being set up. He had to get to the big _things _before he found out what they did. Dashing across the room past people not really caring why he was there, he looked at the devices. There were panels. He opened one up on the left one and tore out some wires. He went to the device on the right and did the same. The lunch bell rang, and soon, students would start filtering into the gym.

A few minutes later, the rally officially began. James could sense some distant ghostly feelings, and with the energy in the room being pretty low, found it more entertaining to practice deciphering the auras than listening to Jazz talk about ceremonial dominoes.

The last domino fell, and James saw a ghost fly across the room at Jazz. The machines fizzled and smoked, but nothing else happened. The ghost, which was the same good ghost from the store, stopped and sighed in relief. Spectra phased through the wall behind him, shadow form only, and tackled the ghost behind the curtains on the stage with a good _crash. _Jazz went behind the curtains, and James ran down to help.

Spectra was pinning the mystery ghost, Jazz was in a strange metal suit, and James distracted them all.

James slowly walked backwards as Spectra creeped toward him with an evil smile. "So, you show yourself. You were the one that broke my sparklers, weren't you?"

_ZAP!_ Jazz shot Spectra while she was distracted. "NOOOOO!" The shadow yelled as her shadow form peeled away to reveal her disguise, then peeled away, age by age, to a shriveled old woman. She felt her face and looked at her hands. "No! No! I'm nothing without my youth!" She didn't have time to cry, when a bright beam sucked her in to a silver thermos held by the mystery ghost.

"Hey, it worked!" Jazz said, deactivating the suit. She looked at James.

"I won't ask if you don't ask," he said, holding out his hand.

"Deal." Jazz shook his hand, then walked back out on stage.

James walked up to the ghost. "What's your name?"

The ghost hesitated. James felt slight fear from him. "Phantom," he said. "Call me Phantom." He flew away, through the roof.

James smiled, feeling proud of himself. He ruined Spectra's evil plot, and presumed he helped catch her, too. He decided not to tell Sam and Tucker about his powers just yet. His fun was just beginning.

* * *

**It's kind of an abrupt ending, but it works. I hope you enjoyed.**


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